


every beautiful lie (always has an ugly truth)

by da_moose



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Peter Parker, Canon Divergence - Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Canon Divergence - Spider-Man: Far From Home, Hurt/Comfort, May Parker Can Wield Mjonir, Multi, Peter Parker Can Wield Mjolnir, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Precious Peter Parker, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, You can pry bi peter from my cold dead hands, its a little bit team iron man, just kinda using some of the reasons that most fics use so that we can reunite the avengers, not really - Freeform, seriously why isn't there more fics with that trope
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:33:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29718627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/da_moose/pseuds/da_moose
Summary: “Stop it, Beck. I know this isn’t real.”“Pete, I have no idea what you’re talking about, what isn’t-”Peter wants to scream. He wants to tear his hair out, he wants to bury his head into the embrace of May and MJ and Ned and Happy’s arms, because he knows this isn’t real. Tony isn’t real. Tony died nine months ago, it’s been a month since MJ found out and Mysterio tried to ruin Peter’s life again, this isn’t Tony. Tony is dead. This isn’t real. (Right?)
Relationships: Loki & Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Peter Parker & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 58
Kudos: 282





	1. Chapter One: This Isn’t Real

“I’m gonna need the suit back.”

Peter’s head darts up, alarmed, staring up at Tony. _Tony_ . Mr. Stark. This makes no sense. There is no sense in this, this, Tony is _dead_ , how- no, not how. Never how. It’s always a lie, goddamnit. Why? How? How does Beck know this happened, how did he get every single smell and movement of Tony’s body to feel so _real_?

Peter stumbles back. No, don’t trust anyone, don’t trust anything you know isn’t real. Tony is dead, and as much as Peter would _love_ to embrace this lie, he knows- he knows he knows he knows he knows he knows. Beck can’t trick him again. 

“What the fuck, Mysterio?”

“Did you just call me Mystery Man?”

Peter blinks, eyes welling up with tears, wiping off the blood that soaks his skin, this isn’t real this isn’t real this isn’t real this isn’t real-

“Stop it, Beck. I know this isn’t real.”

“Pete, I have no idea what you’re talking about, what isn’t-”

Peter wants to scream. He wants to tear his hair out, he wants to bury his head into the embrace of May and MJ and Ned and Happy’s arms, because he knows this isn’t real. Tony isn’t real. Tony died nine months ago, it’s been a month since MJ found out and Mysterio tried to ruin Peter’s life again, this isn’t Tony. Tony is dead. This isn’t real. (Right?)

“Stop hiding!” Peter yells. “Actually, you know what, better yet, stop lying! Don’t pretend to be Mr. Stark! _I’m not an idiot!_ ”

Fake-Mr. Stark looks confused, staring at Peter’s wide eyes and tears going down his face and the panic. He looks so _real_ it makes Peter want to cry. “Underoos, It’s me. Tony. I swear, I-” Peter swallows, closing his eyes and staring away, looking away. _Don’t let yourself be tricked._

“Mr. Stark is _dead_ !” Peter yells, hoping that Beck will just back down, will just stop, fuck, even change the scene before Peter loses his mind. “Mr. Stark is _dead_ , and _has been dead_ , for the past _nine months_!” He says, stumbling away and he doesn’t know what to touch or not, he might be at the ledge of a goddamned roof ~~which would probably be a relief, falling.~~

“What?”

“I know this isn’t real, Mysterio. Just motherfucking come out and get this over with, I’ve dealt with aliens. I’ve fucking deal with your hallucinations! Make me go insane, whatever your evil plot is. Thanos is a ten times harder match than you!”

“Peter. I swear, okay, I’m not who this Mysterio guy is, I’m Tony, tell me, _what’s going on_ -”

“Who is Dr. Stephen Strange?” Peter demands, holding out his webshooters, ready to shoot.

For a moment, Peter is so sure that Tony will answer correctly. That’ll he’ll crack some kind of joke and they’ll laugh and Tony will cry and everything will fall back into place and everything will be _normal_ , again.

~~It feels so real.~~

“I don’t-”

Peter tends to think before he acts. Usually, it gets him in huge trouble, but for once in his life, Peter is grateful for his impulsive actions.

He punches Fake-Tony in the face. Hard.

He shoots out a web and swings away, trying to drown his sobs out with the wind.

~~~

“Run that by me again.”

“Today is September 27, 2016. The current time is 10:31 pm, and I suggest you go to bed, Peter. Tomorrow you have school.” Peter swallows, the nostalgia hitting him like a train. “No, Karen. I haven’t slept in the past 48 hours. I don’t need sleep. I need answers.”

“Evidence suggests that yesterday you went to bed at 11:34 pm, and woke up at 7:47, which is in total-”

“Karen,” Peter says softly. “Karen, is this real?”

“Of course it is, Peter. Is everything okay?”

Peter blanches. “No! Everything _isn’t_ okay. My vacation was supposed to be fun, I was supposed to ask out MJ-”

“I thought that you like Liz Allen?”

“-And be in Paris and be a _normal kid_ , but no, Quentin Beck had to jump in and ruin everything. He had to mess with my mind _so fucking bad,_ and now either I’m trapped in some kind of sick reality he’s cooked up or I’ve gone back in time, both being equally as plausible because _Tony fucking Stark_ has time travelled and Beck convinced the entirety of Europe that evil elemental monsters are attacking Earth-”

“Peter, I need you to take a deep breath. Please.”

Peter pauses, swallowing and taking a deep breath as per Karen’s request.

“ _Karen_ ,” Peter says, letting out a wet sob. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I know, Peter,” Karen says, and there's something warm in her voice. “Now, please tell me what happens in the future to deduce the best way to avoid Thano's snap from even happening.”

“Do you even know what the snap is?”

“No, but if it’s causing you distress…” Karen hesitates. “Then we should get rid of it.”

“Well… Mr. Stark takes the suit. I go back to school and ask Liz to Homecoming.”

“Peter, do you mind me writing this down for future reference?”

“Yeah,” Peter says, pacing around his room anxiously, wiping his tears away. “Yeah, it’s okay, as long as you don’t show Mr. Stark.” He sits on the bed and places his head in his hands, massaging his masked face.

“Duly noted.”

Peter silently rolls his eyes. “So I get ready for Homecoming, go to pick Liz up, and surprise! Turns out Liz’s dad is the Vulture.” He pauses, allowing Karen to write that up in whatever doc she has. “He threatens me and I go after him and then while fighting a building collapses on me. I lift it up. Toomes- Liz’s dad- tries to steal from the Stark plane that was moving stuff to the Compound for moving day. I stop him. He goes to jail, I get the suit back, and To- Mr. Stark offers me a spot on the Avengers. I said… no.”

“Excellent emotional maturity you showed there, Peter.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Peter says with a breathless laugh. “He still gave me the suit, so that was fun. Then, I was trying it on when… May found out.”

“What was her reaction?”

“She screamed ‘What the fuck’ and then went to scream at Mr. Stark,” Peter says bluntly. “She then came back and promised she wasn’t mad and wanted to know why I didn’t tell her. I told her the same thing I told Mr. Stark. ‘When you freak out I freak out and then everything is a mess’. She promised she wouldn’t be mad at Mr. Stark but I’m pretty sure she was because Mr. Stark addressed her as ma’am for the next five months.”

Peter doesn’t say anything, staring out the window, swallowing down the fear. “Then-?” Karen prompts.

“Then…” Peter hesitates. Does he really want to say anything? “Thanos came. Sort of. Dr. Banner came back from the space trip thing and warned a bunch of wizards who had the time stone- oh! I need to explain what the stones are.”

“There are… five? No, six of them! There’s time, which is with the wizards, then… uh....”

He mentally counts them on his fingers, whispering hushedly. “Time, soul, power, reality… Mind, and space. He turns around, continuing to pace. “Yeah, right. Time, soul, power, reality, mind, and space.” He confirms a bit louder, allowing Karen to type.

“Yeah, so Thanos wanted them all because he wanted to wipe out half of the universe. He had this gauntlet that would help him be able to hold them all. So this donut-shaped alien ship came to Earth and tried to kidnap the wizard with the Time Stone and me and Mr. Stark tried to stop him but couldn’t and the wizard was abducted and we climbed on. We went to this place and met these alien guys- Mantis… Drax, and Peter Quill, and they said they met Thor and… then we tried to stop Thanos but we failed, and then Thanos went to Earth and got the last stone from Vision and then-”

He swallows. “And then…”

“Would you like to stop and continue another time, Peter?”

“No, no no no. It’s fine, it’s fine. I just… need a moment.”

Peter swallows, putting his head in his hands. “And then… I’m not really sure _what_ happened. I really don’t. First I was… then....” Peter stares at the ceiling allowing the silence to fill up the room. “I died. For five years, apparently. So did half of the world.”

“That event… would be catastrophic.”

“I know. Then five years later I can’t tell you what exactly happened, but I was at some battle and there were so many people and Dr. Strange said we had to help them! You know?” Peter says with a choked laugh. “And then, Tony had the gauntlet and he snapped and fixed… everything. He died.”

“But- he came back, didn’t he?” Karen says, her voice, strangely enough, alarmed. “Just like you came back?”

“No, no he didn’t because it wasn’t turning to _dust_ , it was an actual, real death.” Peter swallows. “A couple of months later my class had a trip to Europe with all the kids who were dusted. And a couple of jerks. I liked MJ then, Liz moved away and I eventually got to be with MJ and I just wanted to be-” Peter lets out a stupid sob. “I just wanted to be _normal_.”

There’s a long pause. “It’s okay, Peter. You can take a moment.”

“Karen…” Peter swallows. “Karen, please tell me this is real. This isn’t more of Mysterio’s illusion tech… is it?”

“No, Peter. I assure you, this is real. So what’s the plan?”

Peter paces, harder, faster… fuck, whoever is below him is probably going to scream, the walls and floors of the apartment are really thin. “I- I… we need to keep the timeline as similar as possible to the original,” Peter says. “I’m right now 15 but mentally I’m 16… and technically I’m like, 21 years old. We need to wait until the whole thing with Vulture blows over, once I deal with him we’ll track down Dr. Strange. He’s a wizard.”

“Peter.”

“Yeah, Karen?” Peter asks, pausing in pulling off the mask.

“I’m glad you came back.”


	2. Chapter Two: Tony Tries to Figure Out What the Fuck is Going On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This kid is so fucking good at making me second guess myself,” Tony grumbles, tossing the note away and pulling the suit out of the box, staring at the rumpled spandex. He pulls the mask on, wincing at the tightness. “Disable training wheels protocol-”
> 
> “There will be no need, sir.”
> 
> Tony snorts. “Wow, my multi-million dollar suit. Hacked by a fourteen-year-old. Pull up all footage from yesterday night, from the moment Peter left the roof after the Ferry incident.”

_ Hi, Mr. Stark. _

_ Please don’t scream at me. That’d be nice. _

_ I… Uhm, I brought the suit back for you, because you said you wanted it back, right? I know I thought I was nothing without the suit… but if I’m nothing without it, then why should I have it? *cue the self-deprecating laugh* _

_ The whole thing on the roof. It was… stupid. It’s nothing. I just panicked when you said you wanted the suit and I’m a good actor, so… _

_ Thanks for the suit, I’m… sorry. _

_ \- Peter _

“This kid is so fucking good at making me second guess myself,” Tony grumbles, tossing the note away and pulling the suit out of the box, staring at the rumpled spandex. He pulls the mask on, wincing at the tightness. “Disable training wheels protocol-”

“There will be no need, sir.”

Tony snorts. “Wow, my multi-million dollar suit. Hacked by a fourteen-year-old. Pull up all footage from yesterday night, from the moment Peter left the roof after the Ferry incident.”

There’s a pause. “I’m afraid you are not authorized for that, sir.”

“wHAT?”

“I have turned off all authorizations for viewing the Baby Monitor Protocol since yesterday night, at exactly 11:24 pm, as per Peter’s request.” Tony splutters. “But-”

“It was my own choice, sir.”

Oh. OH. So this is just his AI being stubborn. “AI- uh, what’s your name again?” Tony says slowly, running through the possible ways that Tony can convince the AI. “Peter gave me the name Karen.” Tony snorts, before sobering. “Karen, I’m worried about Peter. His freak-out yesterday definitely wasn’t acting and the entire letter is a load of bullshit.”

(Tony will never admit it, but he means every word.)

“I just need to make sure he’s okay.”

“Sir-” Karen pauses, clearly unsure of what to do. That‘s alright. Karen is a learning program. Sometimes they need a moment to make a decision. “Sir, I’d absolutely love to tell you.”

“Great! So, pull up footage from-”

“But I’m afraid if I do so, this entire timeline will fall apart.”

~~~

“Tones- Oh, geez. What happened?”

“A teenager happened.” Tony groans face-planted into the sofa. “Oh, yeah, I saw the news. The ferry incident- what happened there?” Rhodey stumbles towards the next sofa, collapsing on it, his legs unmoving. Great reminder you just gave yourself, Tony.

“No idea. But, uh, the kid had a major freak-out after and is trying to convince me that he was just acting it out to stop me from taking the suit.” He grumbles, moving over and staring at the ceiling. “He sent me the suit that refuses to do anything for me, and I can totally understand why.”

“Why?” Rhodey asks.

“Because apparently if I know this entire timeline will fall apart.”

Rhodey chokes. “What?”

“Exactly. I’ve spent the last 96 hours, sitting here, trying to figure out if I should hack back in or just leave it.” Rhodey’s answer is almost immediate. “Hack back in.” Tony blinks. “What?” He asks, sitting up, noticing how intently Rhodey stares at him.

“Hack back in. Look, Tones, I know teenagers. I handled you when you were one. They tend to think everything is their fault and they have to handle the situation on their own because they’re teenagers. As his… mentor, the only other adult who knows his identity, it’s your job to make sure they know that.”

Tony sighs. “Fine… I’ll… can you be with me when we do it?”

Rhodey smiles, his eyes crinkling. “Of course, Tony.” He says softly, and Tony lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “But you owe me.”

Tony snorts.

They sit there, Tony finishing the last piece of code and watching as the suit powers on, tensing when there’s a panicked voice.

_ “This is… this is insane, no, that isn’t possible. This isn’t possible! EDITH-” _

_ “Who is Edith, Peter?” _

_ “Stop this!” _

Tony tenses when he hears the pain in Peter’s voice, watching from the lens of Peter’s point of view. He stumbles back, head jerking around the room, panicked.  _ “This is stupid. I’m not stupid, Quentin motherfucking Beck! Stop this! Please!” _

Tony tenses even more, and Rhodey places a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Who’s Quentin Beck?” He asks. “He’s… he’s one of the people who helped develop the B.A.R.F tech,” Tony says softly. “He was mentally unstable, so Pepper, for some reason, fired him. I’m not sure why. He kept saying that it could be used for some much more, which made no sense.”

_ “Peter, I need you to-” _

_ “Is this your plan?”  _ Peter demands.  _ “Keep me into this fake fucking world until I go insane? Haunt me with people who are dead? Karen went offline months ago, I’m not an idiot! Just- just-” _

_ “Peter, I assure you. This is real.” _

Peter is breathing heavily, and the sound of what sounds way too similar to a sob for Tony’s liking.  _ “Karen, tell me something I’ve only ever told you.” _

_ “You have a crush on Liz Allen at your school, Midtown tech. You confided me about her while you were trapped inside the impenetrable vault.” _

There’s a long pause.

_ “Oh my god.”  _ Peter stares at his hands, which are shaking.  _ “Oh my god, Karen. Karen! It’s actually, this is insane, this can’t be real, how _ **_is it real_ ** _?”  _ He says, standing up and pacing around, staring out the window every couple of minutes.  _ “Karen, what is the exact date and time?” _

_ “Today is September 27, 2016, 10:26 pm.” _

_ “Okay, so either Beck has done some really good digging, or I- _ ”

The video pauses, and Happy’s face appears, awkwardly shuffling around. “What the fuck, Hap?” Tony demands, willing his hands to stop shaking. “This better be important.” Rhodey peers over Tony’s shoulder, staring at the grim-faced Happy.

“Boss, We discovered Toomes at the wreckage site of the plane containing the things to move to the compound. He’s the Vulture, and attempted to steal some of the crates for his business.”

Tony stands up. “wHAT?” He demands, much to Rhodey’s clear confusion. “Yeah, there’s a note here, too. From… Spider-man.”

Tony puts his head into his hands, Rhodey staring at Tony, alarmed. “I fucked up.” Tony groans.

~~~

The footage was deleted when Tony came back, much to Tony’s panic.

“Did someone take it? Karen, why isn’t the footage here?” He demands. There’s a pause. “When you got to the footage, I alerted Peter and allowed the call to pass through, He deleted it. He also requests for you to please not to do anything.”

“Fuck,” Tony grumbles, flopping onto the couch again. “I have to give him back his suit anyway. He likes you, right? I’ll install you onto the new suit too. He can become an Avenger, I’ve managed to revise the accords so there are no trackers and shit. We can totally lie our way through this one. Which reminds me, FRIDAY?”

“Yes, boss?”

“Look into suing Ross for defying human rights, locking up the Avenger without permission, that kind of stuff. Actually, you know what, call my best lawyer and ask him to look into how to get Ross in jail.”

FRIDAY chirps back an affirmative yes, and Tony lets out a long sigh.

“Karen, what  _ can  _ you tell me?” He asks the AI, who lets out a bunch of static (likely her version of sighing), before replying... “Peter… was crushed by a building in his attempts to stop Vulture last night. His friend, Ned, attempted to warn Harold Hogan upon Peter’s request, but-”

“You’d think that at this point I’d stop fucking up,” Tony says, putting his face into his hands. “Make sure Happy picks up the kid from school today.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what the fuck marvel.
> 
> (wandavision spoilers for ep 8)
> 
> WHAT THE FUCK  
> WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'A BEING CAPABLE OF SPONTANEOUS CREATION,'  
> WHAT DID YOU DO  
> WHAT DID YOU D O MARVEL


	3. Chapter Three: Peter Rambles A Lot And Oh No His Cover Is Probably Blown Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter snorts, eyes darting towards MJ, who is miles across the table, reading a book. His cheeks involuntarily going pink before he ducks down, continuing to silently eat salad. “Hey, what happened to Liz?” Ned asks teasingly. “She’s gone for a couple of hours and you’re already moving on.”
> 
> Peter pauses. “It’s been six years- or one, not counting the time I was dusted. Of course, my crush has changed.” He says. “Besides, me and MJ… we uh… kissed. In the future.”
> 
> “You wHAT?” Ned practically shrieks, and Peter nearly tackles him over.

“So, you’re telling me that you’re from six years into the future, and somehow have been sent back in time?

Peter shrugs, stuffing a piece of salad in his mouth, and neither of them acknowledges the way Peter’s eyes dart around the entire room, always making sure that everything is there. And real. “Basically, yeah. Except I’m  _ mentally _ a year older because of the blip.”

“I have no idea what the blip is, it sounds like something straight out of a Star-wars movie.”

Peter snorts, eyes darting towards MJ, who is miles across the table, reading a book. His cheeks involuntarily going pink before he ducks down, continuing to silently eat salad. “Hey, what happened to Liz?” Ned asks teasingly. “She’s gone for a couple of hours and you’re already moving on.”

Peter pauses. “It’s been six years- or one, not counting the time I was dusted. Of course, my crush has changed.” He says. “Besides, me and MJ… we uh… kissed. In the future.”

“You wHAT?” Ned practically shrieks, and Peter nearly tackles him over. “Yeah! We did! Now shut up! It might not even happen anymore!” Peter pauses, taking his hands away from Ned’s mouth. “Actually, I sorta kinda really hope it doesn’t happen.”

“Why not?” Ned asks, wiping his mouth.

“I mean, it’s not worth it.” Peter says, fiddling with his fingers. “The entire thing with Mysterio and stuff… I literally am questioning if you’re an illusion right now or if I’m actually back in time. I’d totally like to see if MJ likes me, but… not a great risk.”

“True,” Ned says. “Anyways, what’s gonna happen today?”

Peter snorts, shifting. “Well, MJ is going to be appointed as team captain in decathlon in place of Liz,” Peter begins. “Then, I leave the meeting early because Happy messaged me to meet him in the washroom-”

“That’s weird.”

“Now that I think about it, yeah. It was.” Peter agrees. “He takes me to the Avengers Compound-”

“THE AVENGERS-”

Peter this time actually tackles Ned down, glancing nervously around them. No one seems to notice (or doesn’t care,) and Peter gets off Ned, brushing himself off awkwardly. “Ned!” Peter hisses.

“Yeah, yeah, right, top secrecy,” Ned says, clearly too hyper to actually acknowledge what he was about to do. “Just- you went to the  _ Avengers Compound _ ?!” He whisper-hisses. “That’s so cool, dude!”

“I mean, it’s not like right after I’m going to be offered to be an Avenger,” Peter mumbles.

“yOU ARE WHAT-”

~~~

“Good luck, bro,” Ned mumbles as Peter brushes past him. Peter does a slight nod, acknowledging that he heard Ned.

He makes his way towards the washroom and pushes the door open to greet Happy, whose face is holding a deep frown, even if there’s a quirk of his lips. Peter lets out a long, silent sigh, before painting confusion across his face.

“Hey, Happy. What, uh... What are you doing here?” He says, trying to think of what  _ did  _ Peter say back then. It was so long ago.

“I really owe you one. I don’t know what I would do without this job. I mean, before I met Tony-”

There it is. That random kid opens the door from the washroom and leaves the stall, washing his hands as the two stares at him. He dries it, walks towards the door, before flashing a confused glance at the two.

There’s an awkward pause, Peter’s face flushing. Happy should’ve just picked him up at the front door or something. This is weird. Why did he let this happen?

“So, uh, how long have you been here?” Peter asks, staring pointedly at his shoes. Pretend to be awkward, It's not like Peter knew this was going to happen Whaddaya mean of course not are you ridiculous-

“Long enough to be awkward. Boss wants to see you.”

Peter blinks, his eyes surprisingly enough wetting with tears.  _ No. stop it! Stop! Peter, are you TRYING to get your cover blown? It’s bad enough with the crazy freak-out.  _ “What? Why? Is he here?” He stammers, even though he knows what the answer is.

“In the toilet? No, he’s upstate.”

_ I know that.  _ “Upstate? Like, Upstate-Upstate?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

~~~

Peter was expecting to be led in by Happy, then to have that awkward little talk with Tony, say no, and then go home to immediately start research on Dr. Strange. Instead, he now realizes that perhaps, despite his best efforts, the timeline isn’t the same.

Because James Rhodes is at the front.

_ James Rhodes is standing at the front. _

_ Rhodey is standing at the front. _

Happy sends him out, and Peter stumbles forward, his face flushing with pink when he stumbles over himself. Rhodey just smiles good-naturedly, and when Peter gets to him, he guides him towards the door, and Peter tries his best to seem like he doesn’t know exactly what’s going on.

“So,” Rhodey says once they’re inside. “A little birdie told me that you’re hiding something.”

Peter silently groans. No.  _ No _ , are you kidding him? Of course Mr. Stark would commission  _ Rhodey  _ to try to pry out whatever secrets he’s hiding. Rhodey is the  _ best  _ at finding out secrets.

On the outside, Peter just shrugs. “No idea what you’re talking about.”

Rhodey just sends Peter an unsettlingly understanding look. “Look, kid. I know what you think you’re hiding is the only way to keep Tony safe, but…” Peter drowns Rhodey out, watching as a quinjet flies up and off a landing pad. Slowly picking up pace, he jogs towards a window, staring at the slow, unsteady movements.

Rhodey, catching up, watches it with him, and Peter relaxes, slowly. “Don’t think you’d see that every day.”

“Oh, there they are.”

Peter jumps, whipping around, webshooters out and ready. Mr. Stark flashes a grin.    
“How was the ride up?”

Peter swallows, slowly lowering his hands and letting out a shaky sigh of relief, hoping Mr. Stark doesn’t notice the tears springing up in his eyes. “It was… go- good. Great- Great!” He stammers, avoiding eye contact with Mr. Stark, whose eyes soften.

“Give me a minute with the kid.” Mr. Stark says (just like last time). Rhodey raises his brows, his voice full of disbelief. “You sure?”

“Yeah. I gotta talk to the kid.”

Mr. Stark slings an arm around Peter’s shoulder, and Peter ignores the way he almost melts into his touch. “Sorry I took your suit. I mean, you had it coming.” Peter smiles, careful to hide it from Mr. Stark, but he’s pretty sure he saw it. “Actually, it turns out it was the perfect sort of tough-love moment that you needed, right? To urge you on, right? Wouldn’t you think? Don’t you think?”

“Yeah!” Peter says, thinking of when he lifted the building the last time. “Yeah, definitely.”

“Let’s just say it was.”

Peter tries his best not to snort.

Mr. Stark leads Peter towards the door. Which has a crowd full of reporters behind it.  _ Don’t puke don’t puke don’t puke don’t puke.  _ “Mr. Stark, I really-”  _ missed you _ . Peter wants to say.

“You screwed the pooch hard. Big time. But then you did the right thing. Took the dog to the free clinic, you raised the hybrid puppies... All right, not my best analogy.” Peter snorts. Okay, this is going just like it went last time. Good. Great!

“I was wrong about you. I think, with a little more mentoring, you could be a real asset to the team.”

Peter swallows, looking at Mr. Stark with wide eyes... hopefully. “To the- to the team?”

“Yeah. Anyway... There are about fifty reporters behind that door. Real ones, not bloggers.”

Peter swallows, anxiety creeping up his stomach. Reporters. Reporters who are going to quiz him every moment, reporters who will do anything for money, reporters who are willing to sell false information…

No. Stop it.

_ “Spider-man’s real name… Spider-man’s real name is Peter- Peter Parker.” _

Mr. Stark presses some random buttons on his watch, and Peter watches with amazed eyes as the Iron Spider suit greets him. Peter definitely remembers the Iron Spider suit, and nostalgia fills Peter the moment he sees it.

“When you’re ready... Why don’t you try that on? And I’ll introduce the world to the newest official member of the Avengers: Spider-Man.”

Peter blinks, a question suddenly popping into his head, and he swallows. “I…” He hesitates. He’s only one second away from saying no. Why won’t he do it? Why… can’t he do it?”

“Yeah. Give that a look.” Mr. Stark says, and Peter continues to admire the suit, it’s polished and pretty and bright, looking like a brand new toy from the toy store. What if Peter accepts? What if Peter uses this to find Dr. Strange, to restore the timeline as normal?

“So, after the press conference, Happy will show you to your room, your new quarters.” He turns toward Happy, and Peter nearly jumps  _ again _ . Could everyone  _ please  _ stop popping up everywhere? “Where’s he between? He’s next to Vision?”

Peter swallows. This is playing out exactly like last time. All he has to do… is say no.

“Yeah, Vision’s not big on doors. Or walls.”

Mr. Stark grins. “Yeah, it’s fun.” He turns to Peter, who’s having an internal battle. “You’ll fit right in.”

Peter smiles softly. “Thank you, Mr. Stark... But I’m good.”

“You’re good? Good? How are you good?” Peter now notices how confused he actually sounds. Peter, back then, had been too awestruck that he  _ turned down Tony Stark _ , to notice the touch of hurt in his voice.

“Well, I mean, I’m... I’d rather just stay on the ground for a little while. Friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. Somebody’s got to look out for the little guy, right? And besides… Mr. Stark?”

“Mhm?” Mr. Stark says, distracted.

“I… I don’t really… I don’t really think you’re thinking this through.”

There’s a long pause, Happy staring at Peter, his eyes bugged out. “What?” Mr. Stark demands, taking the sunglasses off. “What do you mean?”

Peter shifts uncomfortably at the number of eyes on him. 

“I- well, to join the Avengers I’d have to sign the Accords and I’m not eighteen yet, and I think you actually really want me on the-” Peter wrinkles his nose. “Wait no, that sounds arrogant, I mean, I think you actually think I’d be a good asset but the thing is that a part of you is offering me this because you feel guilty about the whole suit thing which I’m not really mad about and I'm still a kid and need to mature and I’m not really  _ ready  _ for this whole thing and I think you know that too-”

“Hey, hey, kid.” Mr. Stark says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I… get it. You’re right. You- um, you gave me a lot to think about, but- uh, You sure? Look at that.” Peter does. “Look at me.” Peter nearly bursts into tears when he sees Mr. Stark’s earnest face. “Last chance, yes or no?”

“I… No.”

“Okay. It’s kind of a Springsteen-y, working-class hero vibe that I dig.” Mr. Stark turns towards Happy. “Uh, Happy will take you home. Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Happy turns to Peter. “Mind waiting in the car? I need a minute.”

Peter coughs. “Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

_ I missed you. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont worry, peter is going to tell Mr. Stark the truth soon. Ish


	4. Chapter Four: Ned. Guy in the Chair, the Most Amazing, Loyal, Supportive Friend Ever.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So! Am I coming with you?”
> 
> Peter blinks, looking up from his computer and looking at Ned, who’s on Peter’s bed researching Kamar-Taj. “What?”
> 
> “You know, when you go confront Mr. Wizard-guy?”
> 
> “What? No!”

“So! Am I coming with you?”

Peter blinks, looking up from his computer and looking at Ned, who’s on Peter’s bed researching Kamar-Taj. “What?”

“You know, when you go confront Mr. Wizard-guy?”

“What? No!” Peter says. 

“May is taking you,” Ned points out, shutting his phone. “I just asked mom, she said that I can come with you since May’s gonna be there. She thinks we’re going to see a movie.”

Peter scowls. “May’s just coming ‘cause she’s worried about me. I mean, I would too, if I found out my Nephew was a secret superhero.” Peter says, rubbing his eyes. “God, why didn’t I tell her sooner?” He asks himself.

“You were worried about her safety, right?” Ned points out. “Don’t put yourself down. You were just trying to help her out. Imagine if someone found out she knew your identity?”

Peter swallows. “Ned, you aren’t exactly helping.”

“Ned’s right,” May says, appearing at the door. “Don’t feel bad. I… I would’ve really liked to know about your nightly activities, but I understand your concern.” May furrows her brows. “Why do we need to go to a wizard’s house again? I don’t think you’ve told me.”

“May, you don’t really want to know,” Peter says when both May and Ned send Peter a sharp look. “Fine, fine.” Peter groans quietly. “Just don’t freak out. And uh, you know, try to believe me.”

May raises an eyebrow. “Okay, now I’m nervous.”

Peter nervously chuckles. “I’m- uh, I’m from six years into the future but I’m sixteen because this alien guy snapped half of the world’s existence away into dust for five years including you and most of my class.”

May blinks once, twice, then turns around and heads to the kitchen. “I’m going to need some alcohol.”

Peter winces. “I think she took it pretty well,” Ned comments, turning towards his computer to continue his research.

Peter rolls his eyes. “Uh-huh. Yep.”

“So can I come?”

“No.”

~~~

“Stay safe,” May says, pecking Peter’s cheek. “Don’t show up creepily hanging in the middle of Dr. Strange’s living room.”

“May…”

“I still think we should tell Tony.”

“I already told you why we can’t do that,” Peter says.

“Is Ned in your ear-piece thingy-majiggy?”

 _“Yes, Ms. Parker!”_ Ned says through Peter’s ear-piece. “Okay,” May says, swallowing. “Good. Great. Don’t die for five years out there, Peter.” 

Peter grins. “Of course not.”

He then flips on his mask, practically jumps out of the alley and into the sky, swinging from building to building. “Where should I go, guy in the chair?” He asks Ned, who he can practically hear is grinning. _“Go west, towards Asrin Avenue-”_

“Got it, on my way.” Peter says, shooting a web and swinging up and down and up, the thrill of the movement allowing a rush of adrenaline to be sent his veins.

“Karen, you’ve got the Baby Monitor protocol off and the tracker turned off, right?”

“Yes, Peter.”

“Great. Whoop whoop.” He mumbles.

 _“Go south towards Bleecker Street,”_ Ned says, and Peter follows his directions. _“Peter, don’t you have a GPS on your suit?”_

“Yeah?”

_“So why aren’t you using it?”_

Peter shrugs. “Magic and technology. Don’t wanna risk it, and besides, I wanted to take you along.” He says, swinging down. “Can’t have my guy in the chair missing out, can I?” He says. “I’m on Bleecker Street. Where too?”

 _“Look for a big mansion thing,”_ Ned says. _“It should stand out. A lot. Like, one of those rich people's houses.”_

Peter lands on the ground, behind the house. “Found it. Now… what?”

_“What do you mean, ‘now what’? This is your plan, dude!”_

“I mean, what do I do? Do I just knock on the door and introduce myself? ‘Hi Dr. Strange, I’m from the future and in a couple months or so, and you’re in danger?’” Ned snorts _“I mean, this is your plan. I’m just here to make sure nothing happens.”_

Peter groans. “First of all, dude, check social media. Have I been seen in Greenwich Village? Am I all over the news?”

 _“Nope,”_ Ned says. _“Looks like the cloaking tech we tried to make somehow worked. Do we count as geniuses now since we made invisibility tech with scrap pieces?”_

Peter shrugs. “I dunno. Now, how do I introduce myself?”

_“Uh… just knock on the door, I guess.”_

Peter hangs upside-down in front of the door, the street practically empty. He knocks once, twice, then rings the bell. Then he waits. 

And waits. 

And waits.

“Do you think he’s home, I mean-”

“wHAT THE-”

~~~

Dr. Strange is pacing. A lot. Peter wonders if it was a bad idea to come here.

“In six months, an alien army is coming?”

Peter nods, smoothing out the spandex of his suit. “Yep,” He says. “Remember the invasion in 2012? That’s them. Except, this time, they’re going to be after _that_.” Peter says, pointing at the Time Stone handing off a chain. With a bunch of extra bronze stuff around it. “The Time Stone. This psycho titan guy has a gauntlet where if he gets all the Infinity Stones, he’s going to snap half of the universe out of existence.”

“Half the universe out of existence?”

“Yep. In the original timeline, he succeeds. Which is why I’m giving you a heads up.” He does some awkward finger-guns. _“You’re awkward even when trying to warn a wizard, dude.”_

“Shut up, Ned!”

Dr. Strange raises an eyebrow at Peter, looking unamused. “How old _are_ you?”

Peter’s cheeks go pink, and he’s never been more thankful for his mask. “Why should you care?” He asks, shifting uncomfortably on the ceiling. “I’m here to warn you. If you don’t remember correctly, I was dusted. For five years. So were you. I really don’t want to die for five years again.”

“I’ll look into it,” Dr. Strange says. “You’ll hear from me when I do-”

“What?” Peter demands, flipping off the ceiling and onto the floor. “So you’re going to do some weird creepy mysterious thing-”

A portal opens, amber sparks flying from it when Dr. Strange’s cloak pushes Peter into it, and suddenly he’s back in the alley, in front of May, who’s jumped back.

“Ouch.” Peter mumbles face planted in the gravel. “Forgot. Sentient cloak.”

~~~

“So, I’d really like to know.”

Peter freezes, halfway into tying a burglar up with webs. “Mr. Stark?” Peter breathes. “What the-” He knees the guy in the nuts and sticks a sticky note on his head, tying him to the wall to hang down from.

He jumps onto the wall, climbing up and onto the roof.

“Why on Earth were you in Greenwich Village on a Saturday morning?”

“Karen!” Peter shrieks. “I thought you turned off the tracker?”

“I lied,” Karen says, and Peter can absolutely hear the smug tone in her voice. “It was for your own good.” Peter flushes. “You _did_ turn off the Baby Monitor Protocol, right?”

“Yes.” Peter slumps in relief. “I wanted you to tell Mr. Stark by yourself.”

“Yeah, _Peter_.” Mr. Stark says, his voice holding a venomous tone. “What the fuck were you doing in Greenwich village? On Saturday?” Peter sighs, pulling up the bottom half of the mask to breathe, puffs of fog appearing in the chilly air. “Would you believe me if I said I was chasing a criminal?”

“ _Peter_.” Both Mr. Stark and Karen hiss.

“Fine! Fine. I was talking to a wizard.”

“Why?” Says Mr. Stark, sounding panicked. “Why? Were you? Talking? To a? Wizard?” Peter slumps even more. “None of your-”

“Peter was discussing a world-ending event with Dr. Stephen Strange, who is directly involved-”

“MUTE!” Peter screeches, jumping up. “Mute mute mute mute _mUTE!_ ” Mr. Stark… definitely is unimpressed. Really unimpressed. How is Peter going to get himself out of _this_? “Peter… first the whole ‘This timeline is going to fall apart’ thing, and then you go talk to a wizard about a world-ending event? This is Avenger-level stuff! Karen, unmute.”

Apparently, Karen can be unmuted through call, because Karen pipes up. “Peter,” Karen says softly. “I understand your fear for what could happen to Mr. Stark, but if you play your cards right, this time-”

Then, a ringtone goes off. _Ned_. Oh, thank god for Ned.

“Sorry, Mr. Stark!” Peter says in a high-pitched tone. “Ned’s calling, talktoyoulaterbye!”

“Wait, Peter-”

Peter hangs up the call, opening Ned’s call. “Oh my god, thank you, thank you, Ned, you amazing, guy in the chair, best friend in the entire world-”

“What?” Ned asks, confused.

~~~

**_Unknown Number_ **

_Happy’s gonna pick you up after school on Friday. You better have an explanation._ _  
_ _Sent at 12:34 PM_

Peter is screwed. Very, very screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (yes it's totally going to be a lab day tony just doesn't know it yet)


	5. Chapter Five: In Which Tony Finds Out The Truth and His Mind Explodes. Just a Little.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why were you talking to a wizard, during the weekend, Pete?”
> 
> Peter freezes. Actually, freezes.
> 
> He looks at Tony, looks at the ground, nearly drops Tony’s million-dollar computer (Tony wouldn’t have been mad if he did. It was a pretty sudden topic change. Fuck, Tony is terrible at being a mentor) and Tony is so sure, watching his legs tremble and his hands shake, that he’s going to bolt. He types up an order to FRI to lock down the walls and windows and doors, glancing at Peter, who looks so hesitant. Is he going to-
> 
> “Will you be offended if I tell you I told May and Ned before I told you?”
> 
> Ouch. That stings. “No, of course not, underoos.” Tony lies, leaning back into his chair and stretching. “Now tell me. Don’t try to stall.”

Tony is going to scream. Loudly. Hopefully, Thor will hear him and send help.

Pepper is amusedly doing some paperwork on the table beside Tony, Tony face-planted into the couch. “I hate my life. So much.” He screeches, turning around and lying on his back “I hate teenagers.  _ SO. MUCH _ .”

Pepper snorts, patting Tony’s shoulder. “Now you know what it’s like dealing with you,” She says. Tony lets out an exaggerated offended gasp.

“You take that back!” He says, putting a mock offended hand on his chest. “You did  _ not  _ just compare me to a hormonal teenager!”

Pepper hides a smile, continuing to write.

Tony glares.

“So how  _ are  _ you going to handle this?” Pepper asks, glancing at Tony. “Just gonna sit around and sulk while the world ends?”

Tony rolls his eyes, staring gloomily at the ceiling. “I’m going to hold Karen hostage until he tells me.” There’s a long pause, Pepper looking up at the ceiling from her paperwork, doing the classic ‘god give me strength’, before answering.

“Who’s Karen?” Pepper asks.

“Peter’s AI,” Tony replies, slumping. “He’s attached.”

Pepper rolls her eyes. “How would you know that?” She asks, and Tony’s eyes flick up towards her in confusion. “What?” Tony asks (mumbles). Pepper shrugs. “I mean, you don’t spend that much time with him. You don’t talk to him. Happy never answers his texts. How  _ would  _ you know he’s attached?”

Tony hesitates, continuing to stare at the ceiling. “Well-”

“And the baby monitor, which is kinda creepy,  _ does not  _ count.”

Dammit.

“I’m just saying,” Pepper says, shrugging, as she stands up and collects the papers, putting them in her bag. She opens Tony’s mini fridge (Tony spends all his time in his workshop. He’s not stupid enough to not eat anything at all. That’s just not healthy. We’re disregarding the fact that the fridge contains entirely fast food) and pulls out a coke can, opening it (how  _ does  _ she open it with her nails? Seriously) and taking a sip. “I know you want to be able to mentor the kid- hell,  _ you’re _ attached to him. But stop being so distant. Stop waiting for him to reach out. How would he? You’re like his idol, he’s looked up to you since he was a kid.”

She opens the door of the lab and leaves (dammit Pep. Why do you  _ always  _ have to make Tony question his actions? Just like Peter. Jeez.)

“FRIDAY?” Tony says after a couple of moments.

“Yes, boss?”

Tony hesitates. “You know what? Nevermind.”

~~~

**_Underoos_ **

_ Happy’s gonna pick you up after school on Friday. You better have an explanation. _ _   
_ _ Sent at 12:34 PM _

There. Perfect. No, Tony didn’t spend thirty minutes trying to figure out what to write. No idea what you're talking about.

~~~

“There he is!” Tony says, slinging an arm around Peter’s shoulder. “Spider-boy. Boy of the hour. Spider-ling.”

_ Is slinging the arm around his shoulder too much? Is he uncomfortable? Oh, fuck, he’s uncomfortable. How can I not-awkwardly sling it back off? Is he crying? WHY IS HE CRYING? DID I DO SOMETHING TO UPSET HIM, SHIT- _

“Hi.” Peter mumbles, purposely looking away from Tony, clearly trying to hide his tears.

Tony retracts his arms, awkwardly stuffing in his hands in his pockets, walking inside the Compound with Peter. Peter’s jaw doesn’t drop, his eyes don’t widen, he doesn’t even pretend to be amazed. “You okay?” Tony asks  hopefully casually. “Don’t want snot everywhere.”

Peter snorts, wiping away his tears. “Fine. Jeez, I gotta stop this.” He says, waving his hands aimlessly in the air. “I hate tim-”

“Hungry?” Tony blurts out before he could have time to stop himself. He internally groans when he sees Peter’s jaw snap shut, his face colouring with red.  _ Dammit, curse you and your blabbering mouth, Tony. You were just about to find out something! _

Peter shakes his head a quick no. “I had food before I got here.” Then his stomach grumbles.

Tony stands up, making his way towards the kitchen, Peter following aimlessly behind him. “Mhm,” Tony says, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, sure.” He opens a cabinet and pulls out a box of leftover Chinese from… two… nights… ago… yeah, he should’ve prepared better for this.

“Chinese?” Tony says, glancing at Peter. Peter shrugs, looking away. Tony awkwardly shoves the box towards him. This is bad. Really bad. Really, really, bad. How the  _ fuck  _ is Tony going to be able to pry something out of Pete is he won’t even form proper sentences?

Peter takes it and fidgets awkwardly with the fork that Tony handed him.

Tony has no idea what to do next. He sits down onto a chair, and Peter slides into the seat in front of Tony, and takes an awkward bite from the food. This can’t get any more awkward. Really, it can’t. Why not risk it all?

“Wanna go check out my workshop?”

~~~

Two hours later and about fifty new updates for the Spider-man suit, Peter is smiling and laughing and he wasn’t crying, thank god.

Tony, on the other hand, is silently sweating bullets.  _ S-A-F-E _ . He taps anxiously against the table, Peter showing off some code that’s actually surprisingly advanced for a fifteen-year-old.  _ I L-O-V-E Y-O-U _ . That’s the one Maria taught him.

If Peter understands morse code, he isn’t saying anything.

Rhodey had barged in a couple of moments earlier, called it a lab day, caused Peter to unnecessarily freak-out for some reason and left.

Which Tony can’t help but think is really rude.

Tony has to ask Peter the million-dollar question. He just. Has to. Ask it.

Peter doesn’t seem to notice Tony’s nervousness, but Tony has also noticed that within the span of a couple hours, he’s gotten better at lying, faking, and acting. He said he was okay when Tony asked him. Had it not been for the events of the past week, Tony probably would’ve believed him.

“And so if we change the code to reflect a more simpler- does that make sense? More simpler? I don’t think so, but anyway, if we change the-”

_ Get back on topic. You’ve been skitting around it. For two hours. _

“Why were you talking to a wizard, during the weekend, Pete?”

Peter freezes. Actually, freezes.

He looks at Tony, looks at the ground, nearly drops Tony’s million-dollar computer (Tony wouldn’t have been mad if he did. It was a pretty sudden topic change. Fuck, Tony is terrible at being a mentor) and Tony is so sure, watching his legs tremble and his hands shake, that he’s going to bolt. He types up an order to FRI to lock down the walls and windows and doors, glancing at Peter, who looks so hesitant. Is he going to-

“Will you be offended if I tell you I told May and Ned before I told you?”

Ouch. That stings. “No, of course not, underoos.” Tony lies, leaning back into his chair and stretching. “Now tell me. Don’t try to stall.”

“Of course of course I know, I-” Peter swallows. He looks at the ceiling for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not to jump onto it and scamper away. Tony will most definitely have a heart attack if he does.

“Did you know… Did you know- Did you know that you die, in about five years from now?”

What.

What what what what.

Did- Did he just say-

“Yeah, You do. I- Uhm, when I somehow got here, I swore to myself that, uh, I wouldn’t let you die again. Actually, It was to not let Thanos snap because then I wouldn’t die for five years, and I thought that if I told you then you would try to get involved and if you tried to get involved you’d die and I don’t want you to die again and I know we aren’t as close as we were going to be but I couldn’t risk it and I’m sorry for freaking out at the ferry but I was confused and tired and my identity had been revealed barely a month ago and- and-”

Peter takes a deep breath, tears sparkling in his eyes, yeah, Tony really shouldn’t have asked him, and then he comes forward and-

Hugs him.

Hugs Tony.

Tony closes his eyes and wordlessly hugs back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update... the finale of wandavision blew my mind a little.  
> *finger guns*  
> i cried. a lot.  
> thanks for reading!!!


End file.
